Hey Family!! How are all ya doin? Well this week was crazy! So on Monday....Tifertoes (haha 3rd shoutout to you girl....you must be special;)) came to see me!!!! She took me and my companion to dinner!!! Ahhh sooo badly I wanted to get in her car and go home to Le Mars with her....but no worries....I didn't:( Also this week we had zone conference! ha sooo our ward here in Hastings was in charge of the food for all the missionaires...the next day EVERY missionary in our entire zone was sick!! haha soo funny!! Actually it wasn't that funny cuz I got sick...but other than that...pretty funny. Ummm another interesting thing that happened was me and Sister F had this Mexican dude pretend he couldn't speak English to us...so we were tryin to communicate with him in the little Spanish we did know the whole time...then he asked for our number, then afterwards started hitting on us ALL in English. Ha idiot. We left....he got weird real fast. haha my companion was sooo scared and didn't know what to do! It was funny...I just nicely told him off:) Oh another thing that happened was we were over at our investigators house teachin her then her 25 year old son comes runnin in freakin out...this HUGE dog had literally bit his butt and a chunk was missing haha! The cops showed up and everything cuz apparently this dog has got issues....ha I would go as far to say this dog is a pain in the butt...ha ha ha....hahah good joke. everybody laugh. ANYWAYS.... oh another interesting thing is we met this girl who, when we came over, opened the door cryin. We asked her if she was ok and if we could do anything for her...she said she was about to commit suicide. We had NO idea what to do. So we just started talkin to her and let her vent....hugged her and cried with her. She ended up tellin us she was a wicken (kinda like a witch...theres a lot of em here) so she didn't really believe in God. But we asked if we could pray with her...she actually agreed. It was cool! When I was prayin it was like Heavenly Father was givin me the words to say to her. I told her how much He loved her and all this cool stuff. afterwards she was sobbing and just hugged and thanked us. Her friend came over and we were able to tell her friend to keep an eye on her and everything,. but it was cool to be able to be there for this girl when she needed it most. Oh and another awesome thing...we met this couple C and S....they are amazing! They eat up every word we say. They been through sooo much in their lives and they know God has a plan for them and they say everytime they are with us they feel like God is tellin them this is part of their plan. I cant tell you how strong and cool they are. We are gonna try and set them for baptism on September 20th:) We will see what happens...:)

Well Im runnin out of time so Ill leave it at that today but I just wanted to share with you guys what I been learnin lately. Soo to be honest...this has been the hardest transfer Ive had so far. Ha its kickin my butt...but also its makin me into the person I needa be. Real growth is a change of heart, change of countenance, change of desires, change of action. I honestly feel like I am changing. Im still the same ol blonde but...Im also so much more able to do Gods will now. Ive been able to lose myself more...and let God take control...THAT is the only reason I am even able to still be here. Cuz to be honest....if it was just me out here on my mission with just my own strength...ha I wouldn't....couldn't be here. But with God....he Makes my strength enough, and not only does He make it enough..He makes miracles out of it.:) I heard this quote the other day and I think its so true...it says, "The purpose of the gospel is to make bad men good, and good men better, and better men great." I have seen how true this is over and over on my mission, Ive seen how the gospel has changed and made people better. But what I wasn't expecting was how much its still changin me. Ive had the gospel all my life...and honestly I used to think once you had it...you just had it. Lucky for you...lifes all good. But No....you never just have it. You gotta work for it everyday. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. The more you allow it to come into your life, the more miralces it will bring into your life. The more it will change you. Anyways...so ya know how I was sayin this is a rough transfer for me? Well I was really strugglin the other day...and so I was readin the BOM and came across 1 Nephi 7:17-18. This is where Laman and Lemuel tied up nephi and are wantin to kill him. obviously this is a huge trial in Nephis life. So he prays to God. But what really stood out to me was that he didn't pray for the situation to be taken away...no he prayed for the strength to overcome the situation. I loved that. I really have learned that faith is not askin the Lord to change our circumstances, but askin the Lord to change us. Theres a quote I heard this week that goes right with all this..."Don't pray for the situation to change, pray for the strength to change your situation." I had been prayin for the wrong thing all along...I realized what I needed to be prayin for....and that was strength. God allows and even gives us trials in out lives but they all are for the benefit of us in the long run. We just need to give them to Him. He can relieve you. He WANTS to relieve you. You just gotta let Him. Don't deal with your trials alone. You wont be able too..and why would you even want too? He can make even the worst of things, for your good, but ONLY if you allow Him too. Otherwise it will just be a horrible trial you had to deal with for no beneficial reason at all. I really have learned that devoted followers of Christ...persevere. That sacrifice is necessary for success. That when we sacrifice and do hard things we learn to love more fully and deeply. That when we read the BOM it will help us desire to actually WANT to sacrifice and do hard things. That you have to experience the bad in order to grow and change. We have to be tempted to overcome.

Anyways sorry I went on and on there....but hopefully some of that makes some sort of sense. I really believe that this is what mortal life is all about - overcoming our weaknesses- and Jesus is the one to help us IF and WHEN we fail on our own. I also believe that one of the grea test in life is to see whether we will listen and follow Gods direction while we are in the storms and temptations of life. Its also not only to endure the storms, but to continually choose the right while they rage. I love you guys soo much....and cant thank you enough for your love and support! You are always in my prayers! I love you! have a great week! Love, Sister Wilson:)

Hey Family!!! Well this week was soo much better! Ha sorry If I seemed down last week! I just don't like change and it don't like me. But this week was good! I feel like Im finally startin to be the kinda missionary I want to be. Its been cool to be able to start fresh and just work my absolute hardest. We have really tried to be exactly obedient and we have truly seen miralces:) I have met some people here who are just angels! The K's are this older couple who are SOOO much like grandma and grandpa leifson. haha he tells me all these jokes and riddles everytime we see him. Im gonna have to test grandpa on his riddle knowledge;) and they just take care of us missionaries sooo well! We met 10 potentials this week and are goin back to see them this week so hopefully we will have 10 new investigators!!! :) We were able to set 2 people for baptism!!!! That was sweet!!:) haha we met this lady named A...let me just tell you her life. Ok we met her while she was just chillin on her porch...with 2 men. We started to ask her questions to get to know her and found out.....she had 4 kids with one of the men and the other guy was her husband. The 2 guys were cousins. And they all lived together. YEa....kinda weird. but ya know....its her life:) haha so many other crazy things happened....last night there was a HUGE severe thunderstorm..so we went in early and hid in our apartment....everyone was callin us freakin out if we were ok...haha but it was fun!:) OHH also this week....I learned how to shoot a crossbow and compound bow:) haha it was sooo much fun!!! We also are goin fishin sometime this week with an investigator and hes gonna teach us how to cook it and eat it:)

Well sorry this email is so short!! Theres just soo much that happens and I don't know how to say it all over email....soooo Ill just have lots of stories to tell when I get home eventually:) haha but I do have to say that this week....I have been able to strengthen my testimony a lot. Its been cool:)I have been able to see myself change...for the better:) (Thank heavens;) its about time...right?;)) I have really been able to learn SOO much!!! I feel like I have become soo much closer to my Savior. I feel like I have been able to get to know Him and feel Him so much closer than I ever have before in my life. I feel like He is right by my side helpin me with every day. Its a really cool special feeling:) I guess when you feel like you have hit your lowest...that its then you can reach your highest. :) I have really come to love my Savior with ALL my heart, mind, might and strength. I truly just want to serve Him with everything that I have. I want to be a person that He knows He can use to bless others lives. I want to be a person He can count on. I want to be soo completely devoted and faithful to Him that He is proud of me. I want to make the most of His time. I think to be faithfully devoted to Jesus Christ, we accept Him as our Redeemer, and do all within our power to live His teachings. So Im gonna try my hardest to live all His teachings to the best of my abilities. And just use the Atonement a hundred billion times a day if I have too...The Atonement is infinite. That's what its there for. To use:).(haha I make a lot of mistakes soooo it might take a billion times...) but I know that as I use it daily...multiple times.... I can then be worthy to be His hands. I know that as we lose ourselves doin His work...that's there where we truly find ourselves. In times of trial and hardships the Lord has a way of refocusing us and our priorities. Its not like I went through that big of a trial or anything....switchin areas....but for me at the time,....it kinda was a trial. And durin this time I truly have been able to refocus and realize what I want most to do in my life at this time:) its amazing what He can make of us if we just submit our whole self over to Him:) I really have learned that there is only One in whom your faith is always safe, and that is in the Lord, Jesus Christ. I love him with all my heart and cant wait to continue to get to know Him more and more everyday:) I love ya all SOOOO much and cant thank you enough for all you do for me!!! you are in my prayers EVERRRRY day!!!! I love YOUUUU!!!:) Love, Sister Wilson:)

Hey Family!!!! Sorry this email isnt gonna be too long!!! I dont have like anytime today!! I really hope yall are doin real good!!! I miss ya all! But ok sooooo this week....was transfers. :( I cant tell you how hard it was to leave Le Mars. Honestly, probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I loved it there more than I can put into words. I bawled and bawled allllllllll day sayin goodbye to people. It was soo sweet what people said to me. Really made me feel like I actually made a difference there. It was such a cool thing to hear and to feel:) I met so many people who have changed my life for the better and who I have learned soo much from. I seriously am countin down the days till I can go back and see everyone. I just hope and pray no one there forgets me;) (Ya here that Tifertoes....thats shoutout numba 2 for you punkin.) But my new area is here in Hastings, Nebraska. My address is 3326 Parklane Drive Apartment #4 Hastings, Nebraska 68901. Please please write me!! Haha I would kinda a lot appreicate it;) My companion is named Sister F. She is a sweetheart! she really is! She will be goin home next transfer so I will most likely be killin her off. So the good thing about bein here is I got here right on time for Kool Aid days!!! haha Kool aid was made here:) So they had this huge fair with tons of country music...(yet again coutnry music has saved my life and made me feel at home here!) we were able to volunteer at a booth and I made a really good friend with this girl who was my age but Lutheran!! We are goin to lunch with her this week so we will see where that goes:) There are 2 people set for baptism here!! So that will be neat!!! And get this....we are settin a girl for baptism this week for September 20:) Do you know how cool that will be to have a baptism on Jareds Bday??:):) I would love that. Pray it happens.

Well somethin I have learned a lot this week is change. And how much it sucks. Haha but without changing we wouldnt learn anything. So I just gotta keep that in mind:) I think with this new change its gonna help me really rely on Christ and give my whole self to him better. Cuz honestly I feel like I have nothin else right now. I am really gonna change for the better. I am gonna let this change...change me. I am gonna let Christ mold and shape me into the person He needs me to become.I know that all things happen for a reason....even if we just dont see how in the world this could be a good thing now. God knows the end....He knows why we have to go through some of the things we do. So we just needa trust Him:) He knows what He's doin:) unlike us...we have never lived life before! How the heck do we know whats best for us??

The purpose of this life is to change to become more like Christ. It is to incorporate into your being His qualities. The scriptures, the church, the restoration, the atonement of Jesus Christ makes no difference unless they get inside of you. Unless they become a part of you. I think a lot of times we think that the gospel, or living what God requires is harder than what it is. Life is hard, not the gospel.The gospel is really what makes life easy. Its the easiest way to live life. There is no aspect of the gospel of Christ that is beyond ourr capacity. Not even close. You not only can be changed to become more like Christ, the whole of the plan of salvation is designed in favor of your success. The plan of salvation is not a level playing field. It favors you. It favors not only your success but also the success of each and every one of Gods children. Everything has been organized to give us the best oppurtunity to succeed. So now all we need to do is trust God.....and follow Him. Follow the perfect example He sent for us. His son, Jesus Christ. Then we will succeed and become all that He wants us to become in the end:) I love you all sooo much and cant thank you enough for what you have done for me! You are amazing examples to me and I am so grateful for your love and support. Love, Sister Wilson:)

Hey Family!!:) How was Lake Powell??.......don't tell me too much. It might kill me. Now stop goin dangit!!! Next time you go....its gonna be with me ok?? mk. Well I know your week was good so I don't even need to ask;) our week was real good too! I got to go on exchanges with our Sister Training leader and we went to an interview with all the Zone Leaders and Stake President and all them! It was way fun! haha the Stake President gave me a referral for up in Le Mars and challenged us to find him, and get him baptized in the next couple of weeks!!! We are takin that challenge!!! I just hope I get to see what happens....Transfers are this week....and I think I might be a goner. I been here half my mission.....kinda a long time!!! but ya never know:)

So....I bought tobacco and cigarettes this week. That's somethin I havent done before....Missions change you:) and teach you new things:) Haha I guess I should probably explain before my Dad or Grandpa or Em comes out here and gets me;) So we met a bunch of nursing home patients at walmart and each of us missionaires took an older person and helped them shop for whatever they needed then ate lunch with them. So this guy Larry begged me to push him...the whole time he was droppin all these pick up lines at me. It was HILARIOUS. He was soo dang cute. Then.....the only things he wanted at the store was tobacco and cigarettes....haha perfect time to teach the word of wisdom...right? I thought so too. But he didn't care too much. He said, "oh that's nice angel....but ya see....I NEED em or Ill keel over and die, and then, darlin, youll have to to do CPR to bring me back"............ I let him win that one. We also were able to find another couple new investigators!!! haha we need more missionaires up here soo bad!! We will see what happens!!:) Oh and I would be proud to tell my Dad that I have mowed more lawns this week then ever at home. :) I really really like mowin lawns when Im not forced too by my parents and brothers;)

So many amazing miracles are goin on. We are able to teach soo many lessons a week!! A ton of people are progressing and its just amazing to see what the Gospel can do to peoples lives! Theres just too much to say....so Ill wait till I come home to tell you all:) So this week I really have been thinkin. Next week I will have hit my halfway mark on my mission. I been thinkin about how badly I want this mission to change me. I want to become someone that is completely selfless, that is Gods hands. I want my will to be His will. I want Him to be able to use me and count on me for whatever He needs done. I want to change everyday to become that person. Then I was thinkin that the whole purpose of life is change. It is to be changed to become more like Jesus Christ. It is to bring into your character, the qualities of His character. It is to continue to progress and continue to become better and better until we see God face to face and know Him as He knows us.

So... every challenge we face, every hard thing we go through, every bad thing that happens to us, every unfairness, every conflict, every sadness, every disappointment and heartache, every temptation and every opposition happens for one purpose only: to give us opportunity to respond by applying in our lives the teachings of Jesus. As we do so we are changed to become more like Him. How cool is that? (I didn't come up with that... I found it in a talk by Lawrence E. Corbridge) So theres a quote by C.S. Lewis that I really really love. "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work: I want You. All of you. I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man, but to kill it. No half measures will do. I don't want to only prune a branch here and another there; rather, I want the whole tree out. Hand it all over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart." That's exactly what I want...... So in the end, your heart and your will is all that you have to give that the Lord does not already have. If you give your time, and your strength then you give only that which He already gave you. If you dedicate your gifts and talents, you only return to Him what He already has given you. Everything that you have to give to the Lord, He first gave it to you, except one thing: your will. He does not have your heart, nor your mind, unless you give them to Him. It is the only gift you have to offer that He does not already have. So when you give yourself, you truly give Him everything.....I love that. Just give it up. Surrender your will to Him. Unconditionally. Withold nothing. Turn it all over to Him; all of your desires, wishes, ambitions, dreams and hopes. Be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just in your behavior. Trust in Him. Trust Him who knows all things. Trust Him who has all power. Trust Him whose love for you is perfect. Trust Him, who alone suffered, paid and atoned for your sins, and for your weaknesses as well. Trust Him that He will make of you, more than what you will ever, ever, in all eternity make of yourself. He will create of you a masterpiece. You will create of you only a smudge. You will create an ordinary normal man. He will create a God.

Presdient David O. McKay said, "The greatest battles you will ever fight will be within the silent chambers of your heart." That is the battleground between what you want and what the Lord wants. If you surrender, if the Lord wins, you win also. If you win, if your will prevails, you and the Lord both lose. The only way to win is to lose. Lose yourself in the Lords work, and you will win beyond your wildest imaginations. So last quote that I really liked was from Lawrence E. Corbridge, "Do you see that only in losing yourself, may you find yourself, only by enriching others, may you be enriched; only by giving, may you recieive; only in surrendering, may you become free." Ok sorry I kinda went off there. I just been studying a lot about it and have learned a lot about giving yourself up. A lot of what I said was quotes and stuff I loved from talks I studied. Mostly talks by Lawrence E. Corbridge....he's AWESOME. I hope you will all like it as well. It definitely gives ya something to think about. I know that if we truly give ourselves up that that is when we will find ourselves. and not only find ourselves, but there will be a whole lot more to find. I love you all sooo very much and am so grateful for all your examples to me! I love you!!! Have an amazing week!!!:) Love, Sister Wilson:)

July 28, 2014

Hey Family!!! How are you all doin?? Well your all in lake powell...AGAIN. NOT EMAILING ME. soooo I assume your more than good!;) Well I am not jealous....not one bit. So its fine. Whatever. Hope your havin fun!;) Well this week was SOO crazy. Ha a lot happened. Honestly its been one of the hardest. But that's probably why it ended up bein so good. We saw soo many miracles and had some POWERFUL lessons. Ones I will never ever forget. Ill just talk real fast about a couple of em. So one of our investigators dad died of cancer this week. It was cool cuz we had no idea and decided to go over there and see how she was doin. Ended up that he had just passed away and she was REALLY struggling. I cant tell you how cool that lesson was. We just hugged her while she cried and bore our testimonies so powerfully. Her eyes were just fixed on us while we talked. I cant even begin to tell you how it felt talkin to her. It was as if there was nothin else in that room. I felt her Dad in that room, I felt Jared in that room, and I felt heaven in that room closer than I have in a long time. I don't see how people can think there isn't a God, and that He doesn't love us. He is So aware of each and everyone of us and I know he sends people to us in His place to show us that love. Well there were soo many other amazing lessons. We went over to see B...her husband and son were gettin ready to go to the county fair to show their cattle so it was kinda busy. We started in our lesson about Christ's grace. She didn't quite get the concept. We read "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. (STOP READIN THIS EMAIL RIGHT NOW AND GO READ THAT TALK. Seriously you ALL need to read it. Its amazing!) But while we were readin that everyone got dead quiet. Her husband and son stopped gettin ready and sat down to listen. They all commented on how cool that was and the spirit was there so strong. Barbara started tellin us how she had felt so down and alone and frustrated with herself because she feels as if she is never good enough. She had gotten to the point where she was just done. Done with life itself even at times. She said it was cool cuz God knew how much she was struggling and sent us over with this talk. She knew that God was aware of her and answered her prayers by sending us to her. Once again that was testimony to me that God Really is aware of us and will send others in his place to comfort us and show us that love that He would otherwise show if He could be here. She ended up askin TONS of questions about our church and said she really really felt somethin special today. We told her all about the Restoration again and invited her to really pray and ask God if this is the truth he wants her to find. She said she most defienlty is doin that tonight and wants us to come over in a couple of days to teach her as much as we can! ha SOO cool:) Well seriously this week we had so many lessons that were just powerful. But instead of tellin you about all them...I wanna share what I have been learnin from all this. 1st off...I have learned that we can and Need to depend on that unfailing desire of the Savior to bring all of Heavenly Fathers spirit children back to their home with Him. I really have felt just a glimpse of how much Heavenly Father and our Savior love these people. How much they love us. They desire more than ANYTHING in the world to just have us, their children, return home to them. And they are always there with open arms ready to pour out their love to us....but the catch is...we have to accept it. We have to open our hearts and eyes to feel and see their love...or we wont. Its all our choice.

There's a quote that I have really been thinkin of lately....It says, "If we choose the right, we will find happiness...in time. If we choose evil, there comes sorrow and regret....in time. Those effects are sure, yet they are often delayed for a purpose. If the blessings were immediate, choosing the right would not build faith and since sorrow is also sometimes greatly delayed, it takes faith to feel the need to seek for forgiveness for sin early rather than after we feel its sorrowful and painful effects." I really have been able to see and learn that a lot out here on this mission. I have seen that choosing right....even when its the hardest thing in the world....always always brings happiness in the end. Happiness that never ends. But choosing to just be a little disobedient, or just a little wrong choice....STILL always leads to sorrow. It leads to separating your self from God more. It leads to the spirit not bein with you as much and as strong. (which in reality....makes all the difference). Even if its just a little thing...it does come between you and the Lords relationship. So make the little choices in the right direction!! Any closer to God you become, the more strength you have to face life's challenges. Who wouldn't want that? Anyways sorry I am kinda goin off...but one other thing I really have been thinkin about is Christ's grace. And how beautiful and amazing it truly is. What a blessing it truly is. We all fall short. We all aren't good enough. We all make mistakes, sometimes big, sometimes just really stupid. And because of all these mistakes....we lose blessings of what might've been if we just would've made the right choice. But we need to realize that because of Christ, because of the Atonement, we have repentance. We have that priviledge to repent, and through repentance you can qualify for ALL the blessings of heaven. So don't get down on yourself, or think "Well looks like Im not gonna reach my full potential now, I just keep messin up." But, as long as you keep repenting, its as if you never messed up in the first place. THAT is one of the best blessings we have. Take advantage of it. That's why Christ did it. He wanted his gift used.

Anyways so sorry I went off this week!!! haha I love you all soooo much and just know you are in my prayers every day!!! EVEN when Im a little mad cuz you went to lake powell without me AGAIN....your still in my prayers;) you just owe me a LOT of lake powell trips next year....mk? Deal. LOVE YOU!!!!! Love, Sister Wilson:)